Greenhouse-bar painter



April 6 1926.

R. s. THOMPSON GREENHOUSE BAR PAINTER Filed Nov. 25, 1924 V 2 Shee ts-Sheep l M h mm ,a a b w 0 9 z i t I: w M v A, :L: d lhl h I M, J a m 8 V ai/a 9 l m k v f nmmtoz April 6-, 1926. R. S. THOMPSON GREENHOUSE BAR PAINTER Filed v- 25, 9 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Witnmoo Patented Apr. 6, 1926. A V

UNITED ATENT o FFFI CE.

ROY s. THOMiSQNQ 0F BAY wanker OHIO.

V eRnEnnousn-Bnc ram'rnn.

Applicatidh flld November 25192 4 Serial No. 752,233.

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, ROY S. THOMPSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Bay Village, in the county of Cuya'hoga and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Greenhouse-Bar Painters, of which the following is a specification. j c

The present invention relatesto a device for painting bars such as greenhouse rafters or the like, and has for its objec'tto provide a simple and inexpensive device of this character which embodies'novel features of construction whereby a coating of paint may be easily and quickly applied to the a bars or rafters of agreenhouse or like strucbars is such: a diflicult and expensive opera I tion that the painting is frequently neglected and is seldom done as often as is desirable for the proper preservation and maintenance of the house. The usual method employed is to erect a scaffold over the house to support the operator while he paints the bars by hand and this scafiold m ust "be shifted or'moved as the painting progresses: H I

pa nt feedlng and distribut ng means'and It will ,be readily understoodjthat the painting of greenhouse 'bar's'in this" manneris an expensive operation where the fgreem houses cover any appreciable area a The present invention overcomes'these obstacles by providing special paint fdis tributing' and feeding means which is arranged upon a carriage that canbemoved longitudinally along'the greenhouse bars to be painted, the operator standing in :the gutter or at one side of the house and.

manipulating the carriage by means of a long handle which is attached thereto. There is thus no need for using a scaffold and even an unskilled operator can paint a large number of the greenhouse bars in a short period of time. Furthermore, the painting is done in a much more effective manner, the paint being confined to the bar and not smeared over the glass to such: an v extent asis usual where the painting isdone by hand.

For a full understanding of the invention reference is to be hadlto-ith'e following description and which accompanying drawings in Figure 1 1s a side elevation of abar paintingr device which is constructedin accordance with the invention; showing the same as mounted to travel along a greenhouse rafter.- 1

Figure :2 is'an enlarged'transverse sec- 7 tional View on the line 2+2 of Figure 1,

looking in the direction of the arrows.

' Figure 3 is a similar 33 of Figure 1;

v Figure 4 is a on the line 4- of Figure '2. Figure 5 is detailf-vi -w "ofjone-o'f the brushes, and r longitudinal sectional view f ,VlBW on the line Figure: 6- is a horizontal sectional view on the line 6. -6 of' Figure"3,' showing the open space vprovided in the bristles of the brushes to permit of the paint being fed directly upon the bar or rafter being painted.

Corresponding and like parts are referred *to in-the-following description and indicated-on all of the views of the drawings by like reference characters Referring'to'the drawings, which illustrate one of many possible embodiments of'the invention thereference' numeral 1' designates a carriage which is provided with so Y which is mounted'to'be moved 'longitudii nally along the bar to be. painted." The carriage is in. the form of a trough {shaped frame which is substantially V shaped in a cross section; being formed with'the down wardly v converging side walls" 15 and having an opening 2'a-t "the bottom thereof The ends of the carriage are provided'with some suitable guide members, such as the grooved rollers?) for engaging the bar to support the carria e and direct the carriage in its mlovements along the bar. I do not want to be understood as restricting myself to any at thebottornof the carriage isarranged in line with the two guide rollers 3 so that the opening 2 of the carriage will move over the top of the bar to be painted as the rollers 3 travel along the bar. The flanges of the rollers 3 will, of course, engage the sides of the bar to prevent the carriage from becoming disengaged laterally therefrom.

For illustrative purposes the device is shown as mounted to travel along the bar or rafter 6 of a greenhouse structure, and a handle 7 is utilized for holding the carriage in an upright position and moving the same along the bar. The handle has a forked or bifurcated end 7, which straddles the carriage l,the arms of the bifurcation being pivotally connected to opposite sides of the carriage by the pivot screws 8. A short chain 9 is shown as connecting one of the arms of the bifurcation to the carriage so that the. tilting movement of the carriage with respect to the handle is limited and the carriage can be prevented from turning up side down when it is lifted from the greenhouse bar by means of the handle. The handle is of a suflicient length so that an operator standing at one side of the house or standing in the gutter of the house can cause the carriage to travel the full length of the bars to be painted.

A pair of brush members 10 are arranged within the carriage and applied to the side walls 1 thereof, so that the bristles thereof project downwardly through the opening 2 in a converging relation and engage the top and exposed side portions of the bar to be painted. The head portions 10 of the brushes are adjustably secured to the sides of the carriage so that they can be moved up and down to. permit of proper adjustment of the brushes and compensation for wear 011 the bristles thereof. For this purpose the brush heads are shown as formed with slots 11 which receive the bolts 12. When these bolts are. loosened the brushes can he moved up and down for the purpose of properly adjustingthe same, while when the bolts are tightened the brushes are held securely in position. On Figure 5 of the drawing the ends of the brush bristles are shown as cut away at 13to provide an angular portion adapted to receive a corner of the bar to be painted, although it is not necessary to cut the bristles in this way, and with a suitable brush the bristles will adjust themselves to the angular contour of the bar without any cutting of the bristles being necessary.

The paint is supplied from a tank 14 which is mounted on the carriage. The particular manner of mounting the tank on the carriage is not material to the invention, although for illustrative purposes the tank is shown as provided at one side thereof with a downwardly extending bracket arm 15 which is provided with a pair of openings. One of the openings fits loosely over a positioning pin 16 projecting from an end of the carriage, while the other opening receives a thumb screw" 17'which is threaded into the end of the carriage and may be tightened to fasten the tank securely in position. A short feed pipe 18 leads from the bottom of the tank and valve 19 is provided for controlling the flow of paint through the feed pipe. The valve can be completely closed when the device is not in use, and while using the device the valve is adjusted. so that there will be a slowjfeeding or dripping of the paint to supply the paint as it is needed for covering the bar or rafter. The paint may be fed or supplied to the brushes, although I have found that better results are obtained where the paint is fed or supplied to the bar before it is engaged by the brushes. For this purpose portions of the brush bristles are preferably cut away on the inner sides thereof, as indicated at 10 The cut away-portions 10 of the two brushes are opposite to each other when the brushes are assembled, and provide a clear ance space under the lower end of the feed pipe 18, as indicated by Figure 6, so that the paint will drip or feed directly to the bar through the clearance space and be subsequently engaged by the brushes which spread the same over the surface of the bar. This is preferable to permitting the paint to feed or drip upon the bristles, for the reason that where this is done there is a tendency for the bristles to leave a little pool of paint when a nail or rough plate is encountered on the bar, and the pool of paint thus left may run in an objectionable manner.

In the operation of the device the tank 19 is filled with paint which is of a proper consistency for the work to be performed and the. valve 19 is then setso that the paint will feed slowly through the pipe 18. The operator can then manipulatethe carriage by means of the handle 7, and cause the carriage to traverse the various bars or rafters 6 to be painted. The brushes will spread and distribute the paint over the surface of the bars as it is fed thereto from the tank and with this device a large number of bars can be painted in a short period of time. The handle is connected to the carriage in such a way that the operator has full control thereof and can hold the carriage in an upright position at the same time that it is moved longitudinally along the bar. The length of the handle is such that greenhouse bars can be painted while standing at one side of the house or in the gutter of the house, and the cost of painting the bars with this device is so slight that it is no hardship to paint the bars with sufficient frequency to preserve the woodwork and fill up the voids, thereby rendering the so called putty bulbing unnecessary, the latter expedient being stop the leaks in ca'seswhere painting has been neglected and the house has started to leak. Y 7 a a c VVhile the invention is particularly adapted for use iii-painting the bars or rafters of greenhouses, it will be understood that itcan be employed for the'painting of other similar bars orstructures, and many modic fications and changes are posslble in the -de-,

" and the like, including a carriage arranged the bar, a

entirely above the bar and leaving the bot tom and lower. portions of the sides of the bar clean-means for slidably mounting the carriage on the top of the bar, means for holding the carriage in an upright position and moving it along the bar while in'an upright position, and means on the carriage forapplying paint to the bar.

2. A device for painting greenhouse bars and the like, including, a carriage arranged above the bar andleaving-the bottom and lower portions of the sides of the bar clear, a flanged guide member mounted upon'the carriage and engaging the upper corners of the bar to direct the carriage in its movements along the bar, means for supporting the carriage in an upright position above the bar and moving it upon the bar, and means on the carriage for applying paint to the bar.

3. A device for painting greenhouse bars and the like, comprising a carriage arranged above the bar and leaving the bottom and lower portions of the sides of the bar clear, flanged guides at opposite ends of the carriage for engaging the upper corners of the bar to direct the carriage in its longitudinal movements along the bar, means for supporting the carriage in an upright position and moving it along the bar, and means on the carriage for applying paint to the bar.

4. A device for painting greenhouse bars and the like, including a hollow carriage having an opening in the bottom thereof, flanged guides at opposite ends of the carriage for engaging the upper corners of the bar to direct the carriage along the bar, a handle projecting from an end of the carriage and providing means for holding the carriage in an upright position and moving it along the bar, a brush mounted within the carriage and projecting through the opening-into engagement with the bar, and paint feeding means upon the carriage.

5. A bar painting device including a carriage, guide means on the carriage for engaging a bar to direct the carriage'along brush mounted upon the carriage frequently employed to fill up the voids and and arranged to engage the bar, a portion of the bristles of the brush being cut away to expose the bar, means on the carriage for supplying paint, to the said exposed portion ofthe bar, and ahandleconnected to the carriage for moving the same along the bar. 6. A device for painting greenhouse'bars and the like, including a carriage adapted to be arranged entirely above the bar so as to leave the bottom and lower portions of the sides of the bar clear, guide means on the carriage for slidably engaging the bar to direct the carriage in its movements along thebar,-means on the carriage for applying paint to the baryand: a handle projectingfrom one end of the carriage and pivotally connected to the carriage to swing about an axis transverse to the bar when the carriage is in position,said handle providing means for holding the carriage in an upright position and moving'it' along theba'r.

7 A bar painting device including a carnected to the carriage for moving the same longitudinally on-the bar and maintainmg it in an upright position.

8. A device for painting greenhouse bars and the like, including a carriage adapted to be arranged-entirely above the bar so as to leave the bottom and lower portions of the sides of the bar clear, guide means on the carriage for slidably engaging the greenhouse bar to direct the carriage in its movements along the bar, a brush mounted upon the carriage and arranged to engage the bar,'paint feeding means upon the carriage, and a handle projecting fromone end of the carriage and having a forked end which is pivotally connected to the carriage by an axis which is transverseto the bar when the carriage is in operative position, said handle providing means for holding'the carriage an upright position above the bar and moving the carriage along the bar.

riage, guide means on the carriage for en- 9. A device for painting greenhouse bars the carriage in an upright position above the bar and moving the carriage along the bar.

10. A device for painting greenhouse bars 1 and the like, including a carriage adapted to be mounted entirely above the bar with the bottom and lower portions of the sides of the bar clear, guide means on the carriage for engaging the bar to direct the carriage in its sliding movements along the bar, downwardly converging brushes mounted upon the carriage and arranged to engage the top and portions of the sides of the bar, a paint receiving tank on the carriage, means for feeding paint from the tank, and a handle projecting from one end of the carriage and providing means for supporting the carriage in an upright position and moving it along the bar while at a distance therefrom.

1.1. A device for painting greenhouse bars and the like including a carriage adapted to be mounted entirely above the bar with the bottom and lower portions of the sides of the bar clear, guide means on the carriage for slidably engaging the bar to direct the carriage in its movements along the same, a brush mounted on the carriage and arranged to engage the bar, a" portion o1 the top of the bar being exposed, means upon the carriage for feeding paint to the exposed portion of the bar, and a handle connected to the carriage for supporting the carriage in an upright position and moving it along the bar.

12. A device for painting greenhouse bars and the like, including a carriage adapted to be mounted entirely above the bar with the bottom and upper portions of the sides of the bar clear, guide means on the carriage for slidably engaging the bar to direct the carriage in its movements along the bar, means on the carriage for applying paint to the bar, a handle projecting from one end of the carriage and pivotally connected thereto to swing about an aXis transverse to the bar when the carriage is in operative position, and means for limiting the pivotal movement between the handle and the carriage, whereby the carriage can be lifted by the handle without swinging into an inverted position. 7

In testimony whereof I afliX my signature.

ROY S. THOMPSON. 

